Laurie Ahern

Laurie Ahern, President, Disability Rights International (DRI), a world leader in international human rights advocacy for children and adults with disabilities, including Ahern's global campaign to end the institutionalization of children. Ahern conducts human rights investigations and is the co- author of Left Behind, Republic of Georgia; No Way Home, Ukraine; Twice Violated, Mexico; Torture not Treatment, United States; Torment not Treatment, Serbia; Behind Closed Doors, Turkey; and Hidden Suffering, Romania. Additionally, her work has been published in many professional journals and media outlets.
DRI's investigations have been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC and in the New York Times and Washington Post to name a few.

For ten years before joining Disability Rights International, Ahern was the co-founder and co-director of the National Empowerment Center, Inc. (NEC), a national, federally funded recovery and technical assistance center for people diagnosed with mental illness and their families.

Prior to her position at the NEC, she was the managing editor of several newspapers and freelance writer for The Boston Globe, Associated Press and Boston Business Journal has won national awards for her investigative and editorial writing and reporting.